It's time for first oil drain... (actually second, the first I did after first warm up cycle) I have put a little over 1000 Km on it and seems to be working okay, but there was/is definitely some tuning and adjusting. One thing that confuses me is engine pinging, or knocking, or detonating or whatever people call it. It is most often problem with high performance high compression engines, but Signets slightly hopped up 225 is bitching about the fuel I'm feeding to her and it should not be like that. Another thing that needs to be "fine tuned" is the throttle valve linkage that controls transmission shift points (I still have not fix it...), exhaust pipe is touching body at some point making terrible rattle some times, engine heat gauge shows some numbers some times if it cares, Ampere meter is dead and fuel gauge reads something, mostly empty. Fuel and heat gauges has a voltage regulator they share and their odd behavior goes "hand in hand", so I guess I will need to check that regulator asap. It will probably fix the gauge issue.

The exhaust pipe thing will be an easy fix if I just get myself motivated to it. Probably need cut it somewhere and weld back to slightly different angle, or maybe just bind it somehow a bit. Not rocket science.

But what goes beyond my understanding is the pinging problem. I have learned my lesson and I understand pretty much about that problem in general and it ain't anything new to me neither. What is confusing is that Signet's almost bone stock 225 slant is suffering it. I have re-curved the distributor over and over again (both the mechanical and vacuum advance) and now it finally seems to be working okay. I will need to go buy a new vacuum canister with different rate (or ratio or what it is in English) to limit maximum vacuum advance to +10 degrees.

In the beginning it suffered both light and full throttle knock above 2500 rpm. Below that it was working just fine. Now it pulls nicely up to 5k's, but what is weird is that it just don't tolerate mechanical advance over 25 degrees BTDC at any engine speed. I did check every common thing causing detonation like oil leaks to cylinders, spark plug heat range and type (tried few) AFR, and even compression pressure, but there is no one significant problem. (I checked and double check the timing marks as well, that they match the top dead center. Match..) The compression pressure is, however, slightly in the high side for iron head motor, but nothing alarming. Rule of a thumb is that street motor running regular pump gas should not exceed 180psi of cylinder pressure at cranking. 200psi to be the absolute limit for pump gas street motor on premium. Signet's motor is cranking out heathy steady 182-185psi on every six cylinder. As said, slightly in the high side for motor that is intended to run junk gasoline, but nothing alarming.

I finally landed to a spark curve that delivers 7 Deg. BTDC at idle 650rpm and begins to pick up advance around 1200rpm and getting all 23Deg. in at 3000rpm, plus vacuum 10Deg.@60kpa. My current vacuum canister actually delivers +15Deg. but I modified it to limit it to 10 that seems to work ok. Just want to buy new that delivers the right rate with out any mods done.

What can I say.. The spark timing is extremely conservative, but it seems to work well and the motor is indeed very responsive and fun to drive. And works on 95 octane pump gas. (95 Euro norm equals to about 87 in the U.S) The motor actually seems to make much better top-end power than I expected and one thing that might make it less prone for detonation in the upper range could be better exhaust. The 2" pipe maybe become a little bit restrictive causing some back pressure which in turn causes all kinds of problem. Including excessive heat load on exhaust valves and cylinder head that can lead to hot spots and self-ignition. It also causes excessive amount of exhaust gas remaining in cylinders after exhaust stroke which heat up the new mixture making it hotter and more prone for detonation. And aside takes room from new fresh mixture and drop engine efficiency and performance. Oh well.

Anyways. I'm pretty positive about Signet. It runs and drives:) And regardless of all small thing there is left to do... it ain't bad. And damn I love to take on the highway. Love to drive it!

But now it's getting late and I gotta go sleep. I'll put up something more asap. This was just some kind of late night intermission release:D Take care!

It's done. It got the plates. Sad that I didn't have change to shoot a video of the first drive on public roads now that this rebuild section of my project is pretty much done, but it ain't a big deal after all. What is big deal instead is that this beautiful piece of state-of-the-art class engineering is back on track and ready to roll to the edges of the world! We didn't face any bigger problem during the registration, but we had one. More about it below, read on:)

Signet's original motor was 170 cid six liner, but the current engine is 225 cid, so one thing to consider was getting the new motor in vehicle registration documents. At least some Swedish and Americans readers maybe found it funny and über bureaucratic that such marginal change actually needs to be documented, but here in Finland it is reality. It ain't surprise as Finland have been found to be one of the heaviest regulated countries with one of the biggest public sectors in the world and controlling individuals life's more than any other EU country. It is safe to say that Finland is Mecca of authorities arbitrary, if we consider the western countries. Okay, that was that and now back to the topic of the day. The re-registration inspection went all well, except left rear brake bite too much. Yes, on brake dyno it bite like crazy and locked the wheel before right wheel even started to brake much at all. That was surprising to me because I did check the brakes, but didn't replace any of the rear brake parts, because they all look to be in good working condition. Well, the problem is, however, a familiar thing to me. It is caused by springs that hold brake shoes in place being tired/loose, even though they look good, they may be too loose causing that brake to bite too early...

Getting the new bigger motor approved was an adventure it self requiring every detail of the new motor and Signet's original motor, suspension, brakes and drive-line documented and proved to be suitable and approved parts to be used in this specific vehicle on public roads and comply with state regulations. Of course no internet baced information is accepted, but all information regarding the new parts and Signet's original parts had to be verified using literal, printed and official sources. But I must send big thanks to Sulan autokatsastus oy where Signet was inspected and registered for their professional, friendly and cooperative service. And this is not advertisement, I don't get any benefit mentioning them here, but I was just very pleased about the service I got down there.

After the first try we still didn't got the plates, because the bad rear brake. So next thing we did was shooting down the highway 45 to Helsinki where we could get new springs (I replaced the shoes as well, once your at it why not make it as good as you can at once...). So we came back and decided to make the job in the yard at the inspection station. It took about 20 minutes to complete both rear wheels and we were ready for second round-just fifteen minutes before closing time:D. The inspection engineer was somewhat surprised that we came back in same day and even more surprised he was at the dyno when both rear wheels shoot to exactly same brake torque! So we got it done and plates in our hands. My brother who was helping me with this spectacle shoot couple of pics during the inspection and after it outside the inspection station where the engineer were shutting the lights and closing the doors when I screwed the plates on outside.

What can I say. I'm happy. I want to thank everyone who have helped me with this project in a way or another and of course all my dear readers. Thanks everyone:) Next I'm gonna do some test driving and fix some minor problems like dead amp. meter, heat meter that comes on every now and then (seems to be showing accurate engine temperature when in the game) and I will also need to install left side fresh air duct. That I'm probably gone do right after publishing this post and then I go for a little drive:)

Difficult to say what would seemed to be the problem, but now it shift through all forward gears no problem. What I did was checked the valve body and didn't see anything wrong, so I replaced it and now the transmssion works okay. Up shift comes little bit too late, so I will need to adjust the throttle valve linkage a bit. I also faced some minor problems that were caused by some kind of "mud" from old fuel tank. I did check it's condition previously and didn't see anything alarming, but that stuff were allover in the fuel system. After some flushing and cleaning etc. it seems to be gone and everything works okay...

One setback I mentioned in my previous post was leaking brake booster. That problem is resolved by now as well. I got some new (rebuild) brake booster from my buddy for decent price and although it was for some "late" (from the 80's) model Chrysler it dropped in virtually no mods needed. It looks little bit different, is shorter and slightly bigger in diameter, but all functional dimensions were close enough to make it fit without any problems.

So, Signet is almost ready for inspection. Just today I realized that side mirrors would be good thing to have and I guess I will take to front wheel alignment before I take it to inspection...

Other than that, it should be good to go. I will probably video the trip to inspection if I get someone to do the camera job for me:) hopefully it will take place during the next week!

I hate Autumn. Or not really "hate" but I don't like cool and rainy weather, let's just put it that way. But some folks down here like and I just can't understand that. It's like someone liking he's nails pulled off with pliers. Similar if not the same.

I've been working with Signet outdoors lately. I did the rust protection which is better do outdoors and installed inner fender wells and actually did everything else that was needed to get it in road worthy shape and ready for inspection. My buddy's Valiant occupied my space in garage so I had do the stuff outdoors. Autumn blessed me with rain, three degrees and approximately 30m/s of wind. Okay, I may be a tad on the negative side now, but it's been a terribly weather lately and every time I went garage I got my clothes wet. Hrrrrrr......

Today I got Signet back in. I had to. Because I will need to DRAIN THE TRANSMISSION AND PULL THE VALVE BODY OUT. Again. But actually (surprisingly..) I'm not even terribly worried about that. Third gear is missing. It won't shift to direct drive (third) at ANY speed, so it is probably not throttle valve lever adjustment, but something else is wrong and that something most likely is in the valve body. I noticed it when I made a short test drive in near by gravel road.

Another setback was engine knock. It is almost unbelievable that almost stock slant six can actually suffer that problem when the base timing is set right. But this one did and the problem was found to be in mechanical (centrifugal) timing mechanism. A small spring there seemed to be "dead" very loose and all the advance came in at about 1500rpm which is about 1000rpm lower that it should. Another thing was adjustable vacuum canister (new) that were set at factory little bit too loose for this application, but that was easy to fix by adjusting it to suite Signet's needs. So that ignition issue seems to be fixed now!

Another small problem was dead mechanical voltage regulator. It is original Chrysler piece from '67 (from my '67 parts donor) and I can't believe it's dead. Having an non-functional mechanical regulator is like having an non-functional stone. How come? Anyways, I had a fast and professional monster fix to this problem. I installed some left over internal Bosch type regulator next to Signet's generator. See the pick in slide show...Works...

Below is another slide show about what I've been doing lately. If stars are right I maybe can get the transmission thing done tomorrow or day after tomorrow...

It's been a good bit of time since the last post, but I haven't been just lazying around in the mean time. I actually got the transmission done few weeks back, but I've been "out of office" to put up another post. Last week I finally got that thing out of garage and I happened to have a helping pair of hands there then to video the glorious moment! Ha haa, Signet is finally moving on it's own, both forward and reverse this time, and without any horror sound effects. This week I've been doing the rust protection and it is almost done. too. It ain't asking much to get it ready for inspection, but I sadly found one more thing that need to fixed before it's good to go anywhere far. The brake booster started to leak. It's making suffocating sound to the cabin and actually miss vacuum right after the engine is shut down. So, I will need a new brake booster, but it should not be a big thing. Maybe 50 Euros from "you pull it" yard and takes maybe half an hour to put it in...

Below is the video where Signet roll out of garage first time after three years and first time on it's own after ten years! Highway, here we come:)

They say it's better safe than sorry. Or measure twice cut once. What I did was just opposite and it is very unusual to me as I always (mostly) try my best or at least have focus on what I'm expecting as out come when I start doing something. With this transmission I made the only (bigger) short cut in this project and it came haunting me before I even got that thing out of garage. But as my buddy Teemu said, better now than in Belarus. Definitely.

I wrote in my previous post that the transmission has no reverse. And now we already know why and I actually got a rebuild kit for it yesterday, so only thing I need is some inspiration and couple of days... below is a short slide show about what went wrong...

This week I went to my garage in order to drive that thing out. Before when I was moving it back and fort in garage I noticed that it had delay when shifting to reverse, but I thought it would be just low fluid level in the tranny, because the level was actually little bit under the minimum. So, I filled the tranny to half way max (can't fill it to the max when it is half-warm because the expansion of the fluid which will raise the level as the tranny gets hotter), but the problem didn't go away. Actually, it got worst after running the car for moment. Soon there was no reverse at all, but just some whining noise when put it on R. Well... I jacked it up, drained the tranny and drop the pan and for my nightmare I found it to be "full" metal and friction material like stuff...

I really can't understand. This is something so absurd. I have some ideas what is causing this, but I will need to pull the tranny and dis-assembly it to check and verify. I will need to new parts, that's for sure. And time and I guess I will need to collect some inspiration, too...

Oh, well. Shit happens some time... I will back as soon as possible... :/

Hi everyone again! It's been a bit over a month since my last post when I wrote a to-do-list and assuming it to be done by end of June. The end of June came and ques what...? So did I finish my list! Yep, but as I was assuming I probably forgot something from the list, I definitely did. Regardless forgotten things like torsion bar adjusters (component found in front suspension) , electric fan, rear bumper, front turn signals and parking lights and "painting" and some difficulties I faced on the way I was able to complete it in time! Well, kind of because the rust protection ain't done and front inner fender wells are still waiting for installation, but at least I have a worthy explanation for that. After all there was a whole lot more things to do and I still completed in time, but I could't get that thing out of my garage and still haven't! But I guess Signet will see day light next week. And because I could't get it out, I could't do the rust protection because it must be done outdoors. (it's pretty messy thing...) After spraying under body coating I can install inner fender wells.

What is keeping Signet in garage is about four tons of American steel in more or less mobile condition and some 500 kilos of slant six motors and parts. Plus some shop equipment. I share my garage with few other guys and my space is in the back... When emptying the way out I realized I actually own over a ton of slant sixes and slant six parts. A ton of beauty.

To be honest I'm pretty tired of this rebuild. And I'm more than happy that it is just about done. Although I haven't drive a bit (hold on, wait, I drove about one meter back and forth in my garage! Do we count that...?) it is safe to say that we're pretty much done. Most likely there will be some "entry level issues " that'll keep my hands greasy for some time, but at least I'm able to get this thing to inspection and license plates back on. I'm hoping I'm not too optimistic, but next week seems to be the time window when I'll take it to the inspection. When writing this Signet is already on wheels waiting for me to hit the key and roll it out, but unfortunately I don't have a pic of it in this current condition.

As the title says, the topic of this post is the final assembly, so I leave the driving out videos (that I don't even have at presence) and closing words and other chattering about the rebuild for my next post. Not sure, but I'm planning to put together a post about this rebuild in a nut shell, from start to finnish, my ideas and feelings and some ideas of the future. Actually I was planning to make this current post one of such, but I realized that it would be too much stuff for one post, because I already have a ton of material regarding the last steps of the rebuild.

Slideshows have become some sort of trademark of this blog, o why not continue the good old fashioned way. Enjoy:)

​(I wrote most of this post like three a clock in the morning, so please forgive me there probably will be some grammar and clerical errors...)

That was that. When publishing this post I have already put this thing on wheels and cleaned the way out. So, hopefully next week we get to first highway test and... inspection! Say tuned:)

It's been a good bit of time since my last post again, but today I finally made it to my garage. I started my day making a list of all the "bigger" jobs there is left to do. well, it ain't too long anymore. I probably forgot something from the list, but it should be pretty accurate. It looks something like this;

Yep. That's all. Before the road trip begins I will need to do some extra armament like roof load carries, extra pair of lights in the front etc, etc, but I will leave for later and now focus on getting Signet in driving condition, inspected and license plates on it! Next week I will go to garage like every day and I'm hoping to see some good progression. Actually I planning to get everything done by the end of June, which means I have like three weeks to hit my coal... We'll see about that, but it sound very doable to me.

One big step is taken. As mentioned in my previous post, we fired up Signet's new heart, the mighty 225 slant six engine! It's been little bit over a month since that and I guess it is about time to write about. So, Signet's motor is in running condition. And actually, it is almost ready for highway testing! But before that, I guess I will need to put in at least one seat, some headlights in the front and I guess it should have wheels underneath it. Other than that, it's good to go!! But to be honest, there is still lots to do before we can call it done. But the first road test is already nerve tingling close:D

Below is the first alea iacta est video about Signet's re-birth, so please enjoy!